A. Field of the Invention
The device of the present invention generally relates to illumination devices and, more particularly, to a new and improved miniature lighting fixture for use in miniature-scale models of homes or the like and to new and improved methods for manufacturing and assembling the lighting fixture.
B. Description of the Prior Art
In the hobby of miniature room and doll house construction, the enthusiasts continually strive for the maximum in accuracy, both in the construction of the miniature rooms and the doll houses and in the accessories, such as lighting fixtures. Prior art lighting fixtures available for use as accessories for small rooms and doll houses have employed hollow tubes extending through the middle of the lamp in a manner similar to full-scale lamps so that the wire leads connected to the light bulbs pass inconspicuously through the hollow tube from the light bulbs to an electrical source.
This prior art procedure of constructing lighting fixtures for doll houses or miniature rooms results in bulky accessories which are difficult to construct to exact scale thereby distorting the appearance of the miniature room or doll house. Additionally, prior art construction procedures employ brass tubing bent into the desired configuration. This bending requires the utilization of special forms and bending apparatus to prevent kinks in the tubing. The existing tolerances in brass tubing and variances in the material result in the introduction in the tubing of small kinks during bending, thereby preventing threading of the wires and greatly increasing the complexity of assembly. Moreover, these features of the prior art fixtures render assembly more difficult preventing the fixture from being offered in kit form for assembly by the hobbyists.
In addition, prior art frames are constructed either by molding the frame portions as tubes having a hollow core or molding the frame portions as solid members and then drilling out a core. These construction techniques result in increased complexity of manufacture and in increased production costs. Moreover, the bulky construction of such miniature lighting fixtures prevents the production of certain types of lamps, such as an antique store lamp and an antique library lamp, since various portions of the frame of these lamps require fine or thin members which cannot be made to scale if required to be hollow.
Typically, prior art miniature lighting fixtures having complex designs are molded from iron casts that are segmented such that after the mold has set, the segments are removed from between portions of the molded fixture. The resultant fixture is a solid unit that may not be electrified.